Hi!
Any input on this? I have 3 kids and some nice clothes they've outgrown that I thought I could sell online....but don't want anyone coming to my home, I want to do this online and mail order.

Any recommendations?

Thanks!

Well here's an obvious answer. Ebay.

Otherwise you would need to set up your own website and have folks mail you their used clothes so you can add to your inventory to resell. It wouldn't be worth the expense and time for you to set up a website just to sell your kids clothes. However, it would be really risky for you (and time consuming) to take in the items and then decide they're not acceptable. Most people will be looking for cash reimbursement. You will have competition from similar sites and resale shops.

I used to own a children's resale shop and can tell you that people will try to sell you the most awful stuff (filthy or really old) and they honestly believe their items are worth money when it needs to be trashed. So having things come to you by mail would be tricky.

Sylvia
http://smallbusinessstartup.biz
Startup & Biz Plan Help
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I agree with Sylvia, you should start with eBay and see whether you can sell your items. I think you can sell just about anything. The key is to have a great camera so that you can take good pictures.

Regarding getting new items to sell. I didn't think you meant you wanted to have people mail you stuff right? If so, I agree with Sylvia - that's pretty risky. I think the easiest way for you to get new inventory would be to go garage sales. You can often times find great stuff that you can get for just about nothing.

If things work out, then you can consider getting a webiste. Or, if you have a lot of inventory and do not want to deal with eBay's listing fees, then you can also get a website.

Just make sure you price your items accordingly - they are used after all :)

Best of luck! ;)

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you could also get items from local consignment shops which sell baby and used clothing.

I don't know that I'd go the eBay route these days. The company is just a mess, seems to me. There are a lot of marketing channels open to you to explore, though. Work through a marketing plan for yourself in addition to your business plan. Then be committed to consistently contribute at least 20% of your generated income back into marketing each month. The first three months I would contribute 100% of what I make back into marketing. If you have good startup capital currently, definitely look into Google Adwords and learn everything you can about it. I never recommend jumping into Adwords until you have a thorough understanding, which can take some time. There are some great ebooks out there on making the most out of an Adwords campaign. They are pricey, but well worth it. Otherwise, try learning a couple of new marketing techniques each month and then consistently do them every single day to see results.

There's definitely a market for your goods out there. You just need to get into the heads of your customers and ask yourself the same questions they are asking themselves when looking for baby clothes. Then show them how you are best suited to fill their need. Best of luck!



Michael Peregrine
http://www.mikeperegrine.com